One of our concerns was getting over the Siskiyou Pass in southern Oregon into northern California. We had heard stories ranging from ice and blowing snow to no problems. We also tried to comprehend the topography of the pass. The road goes way up, then levels off for miles, then goes way down. Now we know that is exactly what happens. We are used to Rocky Mountain passes which go up then down without miles of plateau in between. Ralph’s comment was that he was either “full brakes” or “full fuel”. Mount Shasta dominates the plateau view for many miles much like Mount Baker in the Lower Mainland and Mount Rainier in Seattle. We had a beautiful clear day and no problems on the pass.
We stopped in Redding CA at Redding Premier Resort ($43 USD) with great service and sites again. The next day was our first sunny one and we soaked it up. Our next stop was in Patterson CA at Kit Fox RV Park ($39 USD) where we setup then walked across the street to stretch. We went into “Stewart & Jasper Orchards” store where Billy, a local character, started chatting while we were drinking local wine.
Let’s sit down and learn! He talked about local viticulture and agriculture and gave us an insight into what we had seen beside the highway and wondered about. Some of you may know that Ralph really, really enjoys pistachios. We knew they are grown in California. Now we know they grow on trees and we had likely passed many on the road. Well, we had to purchase some local ones and check them out. Ralph is now in pistachio heaven!
We had heard about Windmill Farms. As we approached Mojave CA we saw hills and valleys full of many sizes and shapes of windmills. This left us with more questions than we could formulate.
That night we stayed at Sierra Trails RV Resort ($24 USD) in the wide open Mojave Desert. We enjoyed the sunset and the first full moon of our adventure.
We started talking to the fellow in the next site. He is a widower about our age who has a home in southern California but has traveled the last 18 months in his motorhome. Prior to that he rode his Harley around the US and eastern Canada for a year covering 25,000 miles! He gave us lots of info about California and helped us picture where we would be traveling.
We averaged $40 USD per night which was more than we hoped to spend but we stayed at convenient parks which are usually more expensive. They were all pull through sites which meant no unhooking of the Suzuki, therefore, saving us time and energy.
Our five days of travel took us from:
familiar wet, cloudy coastal scenery to
the maze of cities around Seattle to
the maze of highways around Portland to
flat, irrigated land to
foothills and Siskiyou Pass (which at 4300’ does not convey the steepness of the road)
more foothills into flat land then
high desert and mountains then
more flat land, forever, it seemed.
The GPS keeps us on the right track and saves a great deal of time looking for highways and RV parks. Technology is usually Ralph’s interest and my frustration; however, the GPS is my BFF (after Ralph).
I studied in California for about 5 years, and I recognize these roads, and mountains. THey are like old friends! I love reading about your journey. I especially remember the windmills. I thought they were some sort of Hollywood contrivances, at first, until I was told they were for wind power. Very cool.
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